This paper highlights some principles and theories of research paradigm mainly focus on epistemological issues in the development research arenas and critical assessment of the role of researchers (positionality/value/choice) in that process and I presents my position (i.e. constructivist epistemology) in the debate. Finally, concluding remarks will be made. As many studies have shown that development research paradigm was highly dominated by positivistic approaches (Sumner and Tribe, 2004). The trend in the research environment was characterized by the predomination of standard methods that are imposed top - down (Chambers, 2010). The participation of social scientists that are not economists was highly limited in the research process. …show more content…
I begin my discussion by spelling out what mean by epistemology. The concept of epistemology is related to "the relationship between the knower and what can be known" (Guba and Lincoln, 1994: 108). Epistemology is defined as " [...] [T]he branch of philosophy that is concerned with the nature, origin, scope of knowledge and 'how we know what we know' " (Sumner and Tribe, 2004: 11). In respective of epistemology from my understanding and as many literatures also indicated mostly positivist researchers operate under different epistemological assumptions from constructivist researchers. For instance, positivist approach believes that knowledge is only produced through scientific approach. And reality is independent of any phenomena; facts are established by taking apart a phenomenon to examine its component parts. Yet from my experiences I argue that the alternative view i.e. social constructivist approaches is best because they believe that the best way to understand any phenomenon is to view it in its context. They see all quantification as limited in nature, …show more content…
This can tell us even from the same context realities will vary because the ways people view the world are not always the same. There is no strict description of reality. To know the reality of particular circumstance the first thing is understanding about it. And understanding requires interaction then through process of the interaction between us the circumstance/researched familiarity will exist. Then we let the data to speak by itself about the reality yet the role researcher and the researched is crucial to construct reality. Let look at the research work of David Dollar and Aart Kraay are two World Bank economists, who have published a number of studies using cross country quantitative analysis based on econometrics. One of their research is growth is good for the poor was originally released as World Bank working paper (Dollar and Kraay, 2000). In contrast to growth is good for the poor, the voice of the poor by Narayan is broader epistemologically. Because his view of is much broader in terms of addressing non-economic dimensions of security, vulnerability
Reality and Truth What is reality? Different people might have different answers to this question. Everyone has his own way to see things happen in a particular situation. Alexie’s text entitled “Because My Father Always Said That He Was the Only Indian Who Saw Jimi
History surrounds us every day as the nature surrounding us as well as the people living on this land show us the power of knowledge. Epistemological studies are important to understanding the culture and land. Knowing the history of the land allows you to understand how previous generations had lived. Natasha Trethewey in her novel Beyond Katrina, uses poetry and prose to help us better understand what the Gulf Coast Communities were like. This is extremely important from a cultural perspective, but from an epistemological side it holds great value as well.
This means not how we see things or are prospective but how things really are. Reality is unbiased platform that isn’t defined to a specific person. It does not depend on any one-person experience but what is there.
No two realities are the same. Reality is perceived in multiple ways through diverse eyes. It is dependent on the eye of the
A questions for metaphysics is what is its purpose in the world? Epistemology is distinguishing your beliefs from an opinion. It makes us think of what we know to do and how we know to do it. Epistemology is from the Greek word “epistēmē” which means knowledge. How do we know to do that?
There are an enormous number of theories about how people learn, assimilate and understand new information. Two of the main theories that underpin Scottish Education and the Broad General Education are Cognitive and Social Constructivism. Both theories emphasise the importance of group or co-operative learning and a progression beyond that of the archetypal classroom whereby the teacher stands at the front of the class and lectures the students. Whereas Cognitive Constructivism allows for learning to take place between the learner and the environment, Social Constructivism also argues that learning is framed through culture, social interaction and the Zone of Proximal Development whereby learning occurs through interaction with a more knowledgeable
Every research project provides a link between a paradigm, epistemology, theoretical perspective, and research practice. A paradigm is identified in any school of thought – the integrated worldviews held by researchers and people in general that determine how these individuals perceive and attempt to comprehend truth (Fitzpatrick, Sanders, & Worthen, 2003). Furthermore, a paradigm includes an epistemological belief as well as an ontological belief that, when combined together, govern perceptions and choices made in the pursuit of scientific truth. In practice, individuals’ epistemological beliefs determine how they think knowledge or truth can be comprehended, what problems – if any – are associated with various views of pursuing and presenting knowledge and what role researchers play in its discovery (Robson, 2002). Different epistemologies offer different views of researchers’ relationships with their object of inquiry.
In Epistemology, there are sub categories as well. These are called Rationalism and Empiricism. Rationalism will be discussed in this paper, and there are two philosophers that follow this method. There names are Rene Descartes and Plato. Plato and Descartes are two Greek philosophers that believe in Rationalism, yet both have a different perspective of it.
Constructivism term derived from the word meaning Construct building. Thus, in describing international relations there are certain structures that shape it. This is emphasized by the proponents of this Constructivism. Constructivism is not an ideology that plays a role in international relations, but it is a form of social explanation regarding attitude, behavior and studies done in the field of sociology. Constructivism in international relations only discusses the underlying theory and the theory of Liberal Realism, but there are several theories approaching agreed by constructivism.
Greene and Lee (2002) states that when considering the social constructivist approach an understanding of the way individuals function within society is important to appreciate the meaning they ascribe to their experiences of society and culture. Dean (1993 suggests that knowledge and meaning are created and influenced by institutions within the environment. From this individual suffering from mental illness will create their reality and will then view future experiences through this (Dewees, 1999) As previously explored dominate members of society determine values, beliefs and norms that is supported and maintained by that society. Kondrat and Teater (2009) suggest that if individuals do not ascribe to these they are considered ‘abnormal’
This literature review will be covering the topic on research paradigms. There are three major paradigms in the research paradigms which are the positivist paradigm research, interpretivist paradigm research and critical paradigm research. Each research paradigm has its own strengths and effectiveness due to their unique features which are specific to their particular approach as well as weaknesses. All researchers have their own beliefs and methods while conducting a research. Therefore, the ways of research studies conducted are vary.
Key Points The focus of social constructivism is on human awareness or consciousness and its place in world affairs. The international system is constituted by ideas, not by material forces. Social theory is the more general theory about the social world. In social theory, constructivists emphasize the social construction of reality. The social world is not a given.
When Bryman describes ontology view, he introduces the objectivism and constructivism as two antithetical dimensions. (p22) However, Saunders 2009 p.119 advocates that positivism can be understood through both ontology and epistemology views. It raises the confusion whether positivism should belong to ontology view and be connected to objectivism like what Bryman said, or positivism should not be tied to objectivism and can also be comprehended through epistemology view like what Saunders proposed. In 2014, Hanson stated that the root of positivism could be constructive instead of being tied only to objectivism.
A Critical Review of Development of Under-development by AG Frank Development of Underdevelopment is one of the most critically acclaimed works in development literature. It was written by Andre Gunder Frank, one of the most respected scholars in Development discourse. Frank argues that an all encompassing and comprehensive theory of development can only be fairly developed and articulated if the historical circumstances of the colonial and underdeveloped regions of the world is also taken into account. He challenges the diffusion theory and. He advances the notion that underdevelopment in most underdeveloped regions of the world is generally a result of interaction or linkages between the developed and the underdeveloped world.
Positivist argue human beings to discover the world which is made of quantifiable, perceptible and detectable by giving it sense and description. The ontology of positivism research paradigm advocates the scientific research and stresses in order for something to exist must be proven through experiment and observation. The positivist do not reject self-evident proposals, particularly on the unknown phenomena. The positivist argues that reality is not influenced by social construction. • EPISTEMOLOGY Positivist support the idea of John Locke, which states that the human mind is blank at birth.